Private race tracks

In the local paper this morning there was an interesting article about the former head of Coca-Cola Australia who built a private "5.1km Formula One-style track" costing an estimated $10m so he could enjoy his car collection in all its glory after he lost his licence for speeding.

That circuit looks more interesting than just about anything currently hosting a World Championship Grand Prix!

The owner seems to have great confidence in his driving abilities or the perfect preparation of his cars because there are no significant run offs or guardrails, only trees.

A Mr. Setton springs to mind. IIRC he was connected with the Pioneer car stereo brand and has a huge collection of race cars and an own race track in the backyard.There is also a book about his collection called "The Setton Collection of Automobiles"

Darlington Park on the Gold Coast, complaints from encroaching housing and the usual happened, council shut it down. I drove it once in a race car, a great mixture of every thing, and quite long too but highly dangerous, trees on tight corner exits not to mention the wildlife. A terrific change in elevation and some wonderful slopes to view from.
One mans passion that was nearly very good.

Darlington Park on the Gold Coast, complaints from encroaching housing and the usual happened, council shut it down. I drove it once in a race car, a great mixture of every thing, and quite long too but highly dangerous, trees on tight corner exits not to mention the wildlife. A terrific change in elevation and some wonderful slopes to view from. One mans passion that was nearly very good.

At least the Banana Benders have Morgan Park, Lakeside etc and some Hillclimbs Andrew....

In 1986 Regis Fraissinet built the Circuit Automobile du Grand Sambuc on his estate near Aix en Provence in the South of France so that he could run his collection that included Lancia LC1, Ferrari 250 TR replica and Martini F3.

Quote from the (Sydney?) Telegraph:- "Mr Wills wanted to enjoy his growing fleet of exotic cars - which included the only McLaren racing car ever sold privately - without having to worry about oncoming traffic."Really? I think there were one or two others.

How about Anthony Bamford's track? Featured in TV programmes ("Supercharged"?) and magazine photo shoots in years gone by and set round a lake in a nicely secluded spot...not sure exactly where though...

How about Anthony Bamford's track? Featured in TV programmes ("Supercharged"?) and magazine photo shoots in years gone by and set round a lake in a nicely secluded spot...not sure exactly where though...

Some shots may have been taken in the grounds at Daylesford, I think, but most are round Brookleys Lake near Alton Towers in Staffordshire.

Paul M

Thats the one! Didn't know it was right next to Alton Towers (a former motorcycle racing/sprint venue in itself)...Quite a complex of roads and circuits adjoining this picturesque little playground. I assume these others are for testing JCBs rather than racing cars ?

Wootton Lodge can be seen in the background.The roadway is part of the JCB test track.

Originally posted by JagerIn the local paper this morning there was an interesting article about the former head of Coca-Cola Australia who built a private "5.1km Formula One-style track" costing an estimated $10m so he could enjoy his car collection in all its glory after he lost his licence for speeding.....

The Wills family were the proprietors of W D & H O Wills, who were in less careful days the makers and marketers of those cancer sticks known as "Craven 'A'", later Craven Filter and then a lot of other tobacco brands.

As the tobacco industry came to understand that the world was onto them, like many others, they diversified into 'proper' businesses and got into name-changing. 'Amatil' was the name and the Australian branch of Coca-Cola was one of the businesses they purchased. It was big enough that they could hide all their tobacco interests behind it, I gather, but I think they later also divested themselves of the tobacco empire, though I'm not quite sure of that.

So this track was built with tobacco money...

The sad and seedy trail of tobacco interests going into reputable businesses is endless, by the way. One town in the USA was once threatened with the closure of the biggest business in town - a food processing plant of some stature - if they went ahead with some proposed anti-smoking regulations. R J Reynolds were by then the owners of that food business.

The private track that always captured my imagination-maybe it was my age at the time-was the (unfinished) duplicate of the Indianapolis Speedway by Bill Lear to test his steam powered racers.
Some accounts suggested it was completely graded but never paved.
This was from back in the sixties-the era of Dr. No and other evil geniuses seeking world domination from their own extensive private domains.

I find it amusing, yet sad, that in response to my completely innocuous post above I received a PM that was completely uncalled for, far off the point, and, yes, insulting. However, that poster had the 'courage' to hide behind the tool available on this forum to block incoming PMs. Way to go, showing your class.

Ah, yes, the party I mentioned in the immediate above post, has struck again, and once again hiding behind anonymity. Showing great courage, said party has once again sent me an insulting PM, apparently for no reason other than to be the south end of a horse facing north. Being unable to offer any response, due to said person's hiding behind a PM blocker, I find no alternative but to put said party on my block list. The first time I have had to do this. I have had some pointed disagreements with two or three people in the past, but at least they did not hide in a cowardly fashion such as this person is doing. Good bye.

Ah, yes, the party I mentioned in the immediate above post, has struck again, and once again hiding behind anonymity. Showing great courage, said party has once again sent me an insulting PM, apparently for no reason other than to be the south end of a horse facing north. Being unable to offer any response, due to said person's hiding behind a PM blocker, I find no alternative but to put said party on my block list. The first time I have had to do this. I have had some pointed disagreements with two or three people in the past, but at least they did not hide in a cowardly fashion such as this person is doing. Good bye.

Thats the one! Didn't know it was right next to Alton Towers (a former motorcycle racing/sprint venue in itself)...Quite a complex of roads and circuits adjoining this picturesque little playground. I assume these others are for testing JCBs rather than racing cars ?

Wootton Lodge can be seen in the background.The roadway is part of the JCB test track.

Wooton Lodge, owned by the Bamford's has a further (oblique) motor racing connection, a certain Oswald Mosely lived there for in secret for a time in the late 30s after marrying Diana Mitford.

I have a video somewhere with Stirling Moss driving some DB Jags and talking about them, then John Surtees joins, in a Ferrari, him for some friendly, fast speed driving - all on these roads. Never knew where it was - now I know.

Thats the one! Didn't know it was right next to Alton Towers (a former motorcycle racing/sprint venue in itself)...Quite a complex of roads and circuits adjoining this picturesque little playground. I assume these others are for testing JCBs rather than racing cars ?

Wootton Lodge can be seen in the background.The roadway is part of the JCB test track.

The Wills family were the proprietors of W D & H O Wills, who were in less careful days the makers and marketers of those cancer sticks known as "Craven 'A'", later Craven Filter and then a lot of other tobacco brands.

As the tobacco industry came to understand that the world was onto them, like many others, they diversified into 'proper' businesses and got into name-changing. 'Amatil' was the name and the Australian branch of Coca-Cola was one of the businesses they purchased. It was big enough that they could hide all their tobacco interests behind it, I gather, but I think they later also divested themselves of the tobacco empire, though I'm not quite sure of that.

So this track was built with tobacco money...

The sad and seedy trail of tobacco interests going into reputable businesses is endless, by the way. One town in the USA was once threatened with the closure of the biggest business in town - a food processing plant of some stature - if they went ahead with some proposed anti-smoking regulations. R J Reynolds were by then the owners of that food business.

Ray, I have no wish to be contentious, but the world was a wholly different place in those days, and the genie can not be put back into the bottle. There could easily be a long list of offending industries and religions and their adverse effects on society and employees' health over the years, and even widespread today, qv fats, preservatives and sugars in processed foods, the short and long term consequences, social and health, of cheap and excessive alcohol use. The Wills family started in Bristol, UK, so the activities at your end must have been when they changed to Imperial Tobacco. http://en.wikipedia....D._&_H.O._WillsThey were seen as very human and humane employers in their day, rather akin to Cadburys in Bourneville, and wool magnate Titus Salt and his Saltaire village in Bradford. Former Wills staff enjoy VERY good pensions etc in retirement here, and a job at Wills was a real prize in period. People have a choice about smoking, he says as a non-smoker since the age of 15 ( the smoke hurt my eyes....), but the Exchequer benefits more than somewhat from the huge taxes levied on their products. Roger

I have a video somewhere with Stirling Moss driving some DB Jags and talking about them, then John Surtees joins, in a Ferrari, him for some friendly, fast speed driving - all on these roads. Never knew where it was - now I know.

The Wills family were the proprietors of W D & H O Wills, who were in less careful days the makers and marketers of those cancer sticks known as "Craven 'A'", later Craven Filter and then a lot of other tobacco brands.

As the tobacco industry came to understand that the world was onto them, like many others, they diversified into 'proper' businesses and got into name-changing. 'Amatil' was the name and the Australian branch of Coca-Cola was one of the businesses they purchased. It was big enough that they could hide all their tobacco interests behind it, I gather, but I think they later also divested themselves of the tobacco empire, though I'm not quite sure of that.

So this track was built with tobacco money...

The sad and seedy trail of tobacco interests going into reputable businesses is endless, by the way. One town in the USA was once threatened with the closure of the biggest business in town - a food processing plant of some stature - if they went ahead with some proposed anti-smoking regulations. R J Reynolds were by then the owners of that food business.

Hey while you're at it Ray,dump a bucket on anybody who had cigarette advertising on their cars,or promotions for products containing asbestos. Uh Oh ! ,there go Hardie-Ferodo and the Bathursts,Peter Brock,and just about every other famed race driver or race circuit in the late 20th Century. CAUTION--IRONY MAY BE PRESENT IN THIS POST.

The owner seems to have great confidence in his driving abilities or the perfect preparation of his cars because there are no significant run offs or guardrails, only trees.

A Mr. Setton springs to mind. IIRC he was connected with the Pioneer car stereo brand and has a huge collection of race cars and an own race track in the backyard.There is also a book about his collection called "The Setton Collection of Automobiles"

No longer in existence. Man moved on to other goals in life. Sold the castle and property, as well as the cars (some still unsold). Track or "Jardin de la Vitesse" was demolished.

The original purpose of my post was to point out that the use of the phrase 'former head of Coca-Cola' was at least a little misleading...

I guess my last paragraph was somewhat inflammatory, but its purpose was to explain why and how Wills got into Coca-Cola and the 'cleansing' effect it had on their name.

You're right, Johnny, the list of motor sport connections with tobacco is long. And why did it come about? Because tobacco interests had their advertising bills slashed to pieces when they were banned from using television. That gave them plenty of money to throw at sports which could carry their name onto the screens in everyones' living rooms.

The tobacco industry knew of the connections with cancer in the very early fifties. It was at that time they set up an organisation that was supposedly to investigate this. However, its real purpose was to submerge all information and put question marks on anything that looked like proof coming from other quarters.

The early fifties is a very long time before the late sixties when the need for them to accept that the world was learning the truth. But it's even longer before you find that their sponsorships of arts, sports and sportsmen slowed down. People kept on accepting their money under the cover of, "Well, it's still legal you know!"

Asbestos in brake linings and pads isn't, nor in roofing and wall sheeting products, but James Hardie continue in business using alternative products. They've paid out some massive sums of money in compensation to people who've suffered from the use of their asbestos-containing materials and also to those who worked in their asbestos mines.

The original purpose of my post was to point out that the use of the phrase 'former head of Coca-Cola' was at least a little misleading...

I guess my last paragraph was somewhat inflammatory, but its purpose was to explain why and how Wills got into Coca-Cola and the 'cleansing' effect it had on their name.

You're right, Johnny, the list of motor sport connections with tobacco is long. And why did it come about? Because tobacco interests had their advertising bills slashed to pieces when they were banned from using television. That gave them plenty of money to throw at sports which could carry their name onto the screens in everyones' living rooms.

The tobacco industry knew of the connections with cancer in the very early fifties. It was at that time they set up an organisation that was supposedly to investigate this. However, its real purpose was to submerge all information and put question marks on anything that looked like proof coming from other quarters.

The early fifties is a very long time before the late sixties when the need for them to accept that the world was learning the truth. But it's even longer before you find that their sponsorships of arts, sports and sportsmen slowed down. People kept on accepting their money under the cover of, "Well, it's still legal you know!"

Asbestos in brake linings and pads isn't, nor in roofing and wall sheeting products, but James Hardie continue in business using alternative products. They've paid out some massive sums of money in compensation to people who've suffered from the use of their asbestos-containing materials and also to those who worked in their asbestos mines.

So what point are you really driving at?

Rightly or wrongly smoking was accepted in times past. These days I wonder why.

Asbestos is for many products still the best product for many items. Brake and clutch material is still superior too any other current product. That is the reason brake rotors of the early 70s are still alive but modern cars change the rotors as often as pads. And the high performance stuff is probably worse for your health. I am sure that carbon is!

This is not condoning the secrecy about the effects of asbestos. Though I do find the tirades and claims about it a joke. Yes it is bad. But many have lived with it for decades with seemingly no effects. I know builders at 90 are still going and still working, brake mechanics at a similar age still going [and one in the day worked with a fag in his mouth]

Yet others who drilled a hole in a wall claim it is killing them. Really I do not think so.

Lee, all it takes is one tiny fibre. I worked installing furnaces for a few years, and came in direct contact with asbestos [often 'blue' ] almost every day. No-one mentioned the dangers. Fortunately there is no sign of any damage...it was all about being lucky or un-lucky, I guess. These days, it seems 'risks' are things that should never be accepted...whatever the cost.

Lee, all it takes is one tiny fibre. I worked installing furnaces for a few years, and came in direct contact with asbestos [often 'blue' ] almost every day. No-one mentioned the dangers. Fortunately there is no sign of any damage...it was all about being lucky or un-lucky, I guess. These days, it seems 'risks' are things that should never be accepted...whatever the cost.

Hence my statement of the risks overstated. Too be fair most of us have been lucky.

Like most motortrade and motorsport people I have worked with brakes and clutches, have installed corrugated shed roofs and walls. And pulled them down too. So far so good.

I am surprised that more interest is not taken with fibreglass. And other composite materialsThe stuff makes me itch! Though I have 'glassed up broken panels, drilled holes to mount them. Old fibreglass opaque roofing is a real problem. I have replaced my fair share of that too. In recent times I have worn gloves and long sleeve attire, Even a dust mask when loading it on the ute to take it too the dump.

posted on another forum by someone who knows the neighbour of property owner:

Turns put he is fresh ploughing the ground on a regular basis, just to get a rise out of the Greens candidate that lives further along at other end on Urliup Road.
They've bitten!
Image is 18 months-2years old, he still keeps running the plough over it to make it look black.
Has now built horse yards and put up shade shelters.

That particular area (beautiful part of the world, incidentally) has a number of resident "no-one is allowed any fun" greenies, and some of the longer term property owners, mostly more practically-minded farmers, are a bit fed up with being told what they can't do...